Celia Cruz Con La Sonora Matancera: Celia Cruz (vocals); Rogelio Martinez (tres); Calizto Leicea, Pedro Knight (trumpet); Lino Frias (piano); Elpidio Vazquez (bass); Jose Rosario Chavez "Manteca" (timbales); Carlos M. Diaz "Caito" (maracas, background vocals); Angel Alfonso Furias (tumbadora); Bienvenido Granda, Celio Gonzalea, Laito Sureda (background vocals).
Producer: Rogelio Martinez.
Compilation producers: Alan Geik, Nina Lenart.
Recorded at CMQ Studios and Radio Progreso, Habana, Cuba, and Beltone Studio and Plaza Sound Studio, New York, New York between 1951 and 1965. Includes liner notes by Nina Lenart.
100% AZUCAR culls classic performances by the Queen of Salsa and her original band from the years before and just after the Cuban revolution of 1959. Titled after Celia's patented soul-shout ("azucar!"), this collection evokes a romantic, somehow more innocent time in Cuba as each track blows by like a breeze in the palm trees. Included here are favorite guarachas like "Saoco" and "Ritmo de Mi Cuba," with their entrancing call-and-response sections, along with the sultry magic of the bolero "Tu Voz" and Celia's zestful swagger on "Retozon," a son montuno. All around, this is a wonderful taste of both the singer's early diva years and mid-20th century Cuban popular music.